Women in Design

Creativity only grows stronger when confronted by adversity. The economy may be unstable and people's budgets constrained and under pressure, but faced with this new world order, the most talented interior decorators, architects, fashion designers, and tastemakers are adjusting their viewpoints and broadening their scope, even as they remain true to their personal visions. Rather than curbing their inspiration, seeking merely to ride out today's difficulties, they are melding passion and practicality in all their projects, whether it's designing an entire house, overseeing a line of home furnishings, or creating a single irresistible object.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

The five visionaries we salute in this year's ELLE DECOR's Women in Design feature—Holly Hunt, Charlotte Moss, Josie Natori, Michelle Nussbaumer, and Kelly Wearstler—exemplify this approach. They are women with distinct styles, proven track records, and the determination to keep their work fresh and relevant, whatever challenges come their way. All have been savvy in sustaining and expanding their businesses. Their wisdom has been hard-won, but they share it with grace and humor. However each of them applies her singular talents—to fabrics, wallpapers, furniture, accessories, houses, or hotels—the goal for this year's Women in Design remains the same: to make the world a better place.

Equally attuned to the principles of classic decorating and the needs of a modern household, this year's winner of ELLE DECOR's Vision Award makes tradition more timely than ever

ELLE DECOR: How do you define your style?

Charlotte Moss: It's less a style than it is an attitude. It comes down to the word hospitality. As a child in Virginia, I grew up in an environment where everybody was welcome. So I'm interested in creating places that make you and your guests feel comfortable.

ED: How has your aesthetic evolved?

CM: The more you learn, the more you travel, the more you're exposed to, the more clients you work with, the more informed your aesthetic becomes.

ED: What are your style influences?

CM: I'm more influenced by people's attitudes and spirits than by their particular style. Whether it's Elsie de Wolfe or Pauline de Rothschild, I always admire women who had a vision and stuck to it. Because ultimately, the way you live has to be a reflection of you.

ED: What is the most essential element of a room?

CM: Atmosphere. It's the one thing you can't buy. It's not about an object; it's about the end result.

ED: What is the most important thing you have learned about your craft and your business?

CM: Listening and absorbing. My job is to interpret what a client wants, and sometimes they aren't entirely clear about the details, so you have to listen and listen carefully.

ED: Clients are becoming increasingly design-savvy and sophisticated. Has that influenced your work?

CM: It's a double-edged sword, because possessing a lot of information doesn't necessarily connote knowledge. At the end of the day all that information is good for people to know, because it means they are taking an interest in their surroundings. But I'm the one who has to put it all together and make A plus B equal C.

ED: Value is increasingly invoked as important. What does value mean for you?

CM: If clients are prepared to spend X amount, it's my job to use the funds so they get the most value for the money. Which means that the core of the project has to be objects of enduring value. Value applies to my time as well. I think about how I allocate people within my office. The value that clients get from my staff's knowledge is transmitted through how and what we buy for every project.

ED: What new technology has been incorporated into the way you work?

CM: My blog, Tête-à-Tête, allows me to stay in touch with the people who read my books or buy my products. It's a communication tool. But the new technology has its downside too. I look at how fast we can do a CAD drawing, how clients can see right now what I'm standing in front of. That's extraordinary. But then I have to step back and remember that this business is about people. Too much reliance on technology can stunt your peripheral vision because you're looking straight at a screen and not at what's around you.

Her vivid, idiosyncratic rooms have brought new daring and energy to interior design

ELLE DECOR: How would you define your professional style?

Kelly Wearstler: It's dictated by my clients. I take their interests and run them through my filter.

ED: How has your aesthetic evolved?

KW: It evolves every time I find a fantastic artist or designer or am seduced by a new material. Hollywood Regency is a label some people put on me, but I consider myself a modernist in that I always try to make the work feel fresh.

ED: What are your inspirations?

KW: Travel is the biggest, but I can find it in vintage books and fashion or spend hours in a button store and see one that inspires a pillow. And I greatly admire David Hicks and Ettore Sottsass.

More From ELLE DECOR

ED: What is the essential element of any room?

KW: It's not a thing but a spirit: The essence of a room is the emotion it conjures.

ED: What is your design philosophy?

KW: Take risks!

ED: What is the most important thing you've learned about your business?

KW: Be incredibly well organized and have the proper skill set. Having an eye is one thing, but you have to be able to execute.

ED: Clients are becoming more sophisticated and design-conscious. How has that influenced you?

KW: I have to raise my game. Informed clients are better clients, and they make for better design.

ED: What are your three must-haves?

KW: A great piece of art that means something to you, a piece of jewelry you'll keep forever, and a terrific light fixture.

ED: Any advice for someone starting out?

KW: Train your eye. Whether you're going to a museum or a flea market or flipping through a book, always be on the lookout for something special.

ED: What is the last place you saw that made you think, I wish I'd done that?

KW: The J.K. Place hotel in Capri. It's very intimate, and the attention to detail is incredible.

ED: Smartest business decision? Worst?

KW: My smartest was expanding into product design. It has helped me in creating custom pieces and opened up a new world of manufacturers. My biggest mistake was once doing a striped entry hall in six colors. It turns out you can go overboard.

ED: How has the economy affected design?

KW: Clients have done their homework. They're involved in every decision, which isn't always bad.

With her focus on craftsmanship and passion for Eastern aesthetics, she brings a sense of luxury to fashion and home accessories

ELLE DECOR: How would you define your professional style?

Josie Natori: I don't act like an investment banker, which is what I did before, but I'm not casual about how I do things—I'm more buttoned up.

ED: What are your style inspirations?

JN: Audrey Hepburn. Also, my heritage—I was born in the Philippines. I like bringing the mystery of the East and the quality of Asian antiques to my brand in a way that can be enjoyed in modern life.

ED: What is your design philosophy or motto?

JN: Be true to yourself, but keep evolving. And don't limit yourself to one mood—you can have things that look right for the city, the country, or the beach.

ED: What is the most important lesson you have learned about your business?

JN: I've always been very clear about our vision for Natori: the East-West sensibility and the comfort, craftsmanship, and luxury of the apparel.

ED: People are becoming increasingly design-conscious. How has that influenced you?

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

JN: There is more interest now in having Asian things in one's homes and bringing precious objects into one's life. Our approach is that whether it's a pillow or kimono, it's a work of art.

ED: What design trends do you think will last?

JN: It used to be that a bedroom or bath looked the same year-round. Now people are more experimental and are transforming their homes whenever they want and having fun with it.

ED: What are your three style must-haves?

JN: Without my lipstick, perfume, and handkerchief I feel naked. I don't even need a handbag.

ED: Any advice for someone starting out?

JN: Your business needs a raison d'être. Be prepared to work 24 hours a day, and be willing to take risks. And you have to love it or you won't succeed.

More From ELLE DECOR

ED: What is the smartest business decision you ever made? And the biggest mistake?

JN: The smartest was leaving Wall Street. I knew nothing about what I was going into, but 33 years later my brand is still around. As for mistakes, when you have your own company you don't see it that way; you view them as learning experiences.

ED: In the new economy is good design less important—or more?

JN: More. Innovation is more important than ever now to get the customer to purchase something.

ED: What does value mean for you?

JN: It's not about doing something just to be inexpensive. It's about craftsmanship. Our fragrance is not only a fragrance, the bottle is a collector's item.

ED: What new Web technology has been incorporated into the way you work?

JN: I'm not an Internet geek, but I realize we need to relate that way. I blog, but about my life rather than business, and I love hearing feedback from consumers. I want to know my consumer.

ED: If you could pass wisdom on to the next generation of women entrepreneurs, what would it be?

JN: My biggest assets are being a woman and being Asian-American. Both of those facts make Natori what it is today. What's really important is doing something you relate to, something that's personal.

Honoree: Michelle Nussbaumer

In both her design projects and her enticing Dallas shop, Ceylon et Cie, she merges the precious and the playful

ELLE DECOR: How would you define your work style?

Michelle Nussbaumer: Professional yet casual. Clients tend to become good friends.

ED: Who are your style inspirations? How are they manifested in your work?

MN: Fine furnituremakers—such as Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann and Jules Leleu—and their use of exotic woods have inspired my own furniture line. The whimsical set designs of Cecil Beaton and Jean Cocteau are inspirations to me; I have used them in children's rooms.

ED: What is the most essential element of a room?

MN: A great rug, whether it be contemporary or an antique. It anchors any space.

ED: What is the most important thing you have learned about your craft and your business?

MN: Listen to your clients, don't compromise on quality, and do follow through with the whole design concept—don't get off track.

ED: What is the smartest business decision you ever made? And the biggest mistake?

MN: The smartest was to purchase the building for my showroom, Ceylon et Cie, in the Dallas design district. Most designers lease their space, but this way I call the shots. My biggest mistake? Early in my career I slipcovered a desk for a young actress in Los Angeles. It looked as bad as it sounds.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

ED: In the new economy do you think good design has become less important—or more?

MN: Good design has always been important, despite the economy.

ED: Value is increasingly invoked as crucial. What does value mean for you?

MN: I sell antiques and furniture of provenance—something to be passed on to future generations or something that will work in a future home. It's a onetime investment that pays innumerable dividends.

Discovering and nurturing top talents, she has turned her showrooms into can't-miss destinations for any design aficionado

ELLE DECOR: What are your influences and how are they manifested in your work?

Holly Hunt: Everything you do and see doubles as inspiration, though you may not realize it at the time. A piece of jewelry can become a table, an abstract painting a pattern for a rug. When I met furniture designer Christian Liaigre I was wearing a lot of Jil Sander—very minimal, well proportioned, and tailored. Interior design always follows fashion by a few years.

ED: What is your design philosophy or motto?

HH: The best decisions are always made at the last minute. Just know when the last minute is.

ED: What design trends are you seeing that will endure?

HH: We're definitely staying modern—that momentum is only becoming stronger. With the world being so chaotic, people want a serene space in which to feel safe and cozy. We're going to see more straight lines and less multicolor.

ED: What is the most essential element of any room?

HH: The energy. At the end of the day what's key is how a space feels—how it enhances your life experience.

ED: In the new economy do you think good design has become less important, or more?

HH: More important. The days of making trendy stuff are over. We lost our way a little bit in the past five years or so—design got so much buzz. Now people are distinguishing between real quality and perceived value.

ED: What are your three must-haves?

HH: I have three sons but only two cats, so that's easy.

ED: What was the smartest business decision you ever made? And what was the biggest mistake?

HH: Meeting Christian has worked out pretty well, as did deciding to buy that little showroom in Chicago when I was getting a divorce. I've been fortunate things have turned out the way they have. There was no big game plan. In retrospect I would have worried about finance much earlier in my 25-year career. There is a time when you must transition from creative person to entrepreneur.

ED: What is your advice for someone starting out?

HH: As I say to my sons—who are all artistic—be like a sponge; soak up everything. Working in this industry, you touch upon so many different ideas.

ED: What is the last thing you saw that made you think, I wish I'd done that?

HH: Occasionally I'll see something beautiful by Hervé Van der Straeten and wonder, Gee, why didn't I make that? Likewise the carbon-fiber furniture by Established & Sons. But then I wouldn't even know where to get made-to-order furniture produced in that material.

ED: What is the most critical thing you have learned about your business?

HH: Intuition counts; don't sell it short. You have to take risks, but some of them have to be right.